Fans hustle to see top titles before Oscars

Thursday

Feb 27, 2014 at 12:01 AMFeb 27, 2014 at 11:51 AM

For some movie buffs, the Academy Awards equate to the football lover's Super Bowl. And, just as a die-hard NFL fan might soak up player bios and team statistics ahead of the big game, some central Ohio cinema aficionados prep for the Oscars - spending extra time at neighborhood theaters, filling their Netflix queues and scouring the Internet for celebrity news.

Allison Ward, The Columbus Dispatch

For some movie buffs, the Academy Awards equate to the football lover's Super Bowl.

And, just as a die-hard NFL fan might soak up player bios and team statistics ahead of the big game, some central Ohio cinema aficionados prep for the Oscars - spending extra time at neighborhood theaters, filling their Netflix queues and scouring the Internet for celebrity news.

Dublin resident Amanda Iman has seen almost three dozen of the 2013 films that received nominations - including eight of the nine best-picture contenders. (She is to get Captain Phillips in the mail this weekend from Netflix.)

This year marks the fifth that she has made a mad dash to see all of the nominated films between the mid-

January announcement by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and the awards show, scheduled for Sunday night.

"My priority is to see the best films and the actor-nominated films, but I try to see as many as possible," the 27-year-old receptionist said. "For me, the Oscars are the biggest event of the year. I love it so much."

Her feat is uncommon - less than a third of Americans have seen even one best-picture nominee, according to a recent Reuters survey - but others do share her passion.

Reynoldsburg resident Steve Parson has seen all of the movies vying for best picture.

He began his tradition of seeing all nominated films 25 years ago, he said, but the task has become more difficult since 2010, when the academy increased from five to 10 the number of movies that could appear in the top category.

Parson, 49, has welcomed the challenge.

"If they only had five on the list, I might have missed Nebraska or Dallas Buyers Club," he said, figuring that those films would have been less likely to make the cut. "It lets people be aware that there are more good movies out there."

Having seen only two of the nine movies before the nominations came out on Jan. 16, he had to squeeze in seven viewings in six weeks in addition to watching other films.

His efforts included a movie-marathon night at the Easton 30 with his wife, Rhonda, during which they watched Dallas Buyers Club, Captain Phillips and Her, feasting on popcorn and other snacks during the six-hour binge.

"Matthew McConaughey in Dallas Buyers Club - it was probably his best role ever," Parson said. "Tom Hanks (in Captain Phillips) is one of those actors who doesn't make a bad movie."

He found Her "bizarre."

Other Oscar aficionados catch up through theater-sponsored movie marathons - such as the "Best Picture Showcase," a two-day event hosted AMC theaters.

About 30 people turned out last weekend at the Lennox 24 to watch four of the best-picture contenders, with at least as many likely to see the rest on Saturday.

Susan Zoldak and her husband, John Narcross, booked their tickets for both weekends about a month in advance.

"We planned ahead," said Narcross, a health-care management consultant who lives on the East Side. "We liked it so much last year, we just decided to do it."

Not that the arrangements proved easy.

The couple had to juggle their children's activities and remain inside on the first warm, sunny day in a while.

"It's hard to do (the Oscar movies) without actually committing a day to it," Narcross, 49, said between showings of Philomena and Dallas Buyers Club (with TheWolf of Wall Street and 12 Years a Slave to follow).

The second half of the marathon will feature Nebraska, Captain Phillips, Her, American Hustle and Gravity.

Iman said she has attended the AMC marathon in the past but chose to watch the films on her own this year. (She also chronicled her experiences through her blog, The Oscars Are My Super Bowl.)

On the morning that the nominations were announced, she jotted down the two dozen films she hadn't seen, then began adding available films to her Netflix and InstaStream queues. She also cashed in the movie gift cards she had received for Christmas.

The challenge was heightened this year by the Winter Olympics, which took place during her prime viewing period.

"I also love the Olympics," she said.

Relying in some cases on a supporting cast of family members and friends, she managed to cross unseen films off her list one by one.

On a recent Saturday, she watched Dallas Buyers Club with her mother and her mother's boyfriend, then went with a friend to see Her at a theater.

The same night, she watched - solo - a late screening of August: Osage County; and her husband, Jeremy, took her to see two movies, Gravity and The Wolf of Wall Street, to celebrate Valentine's Day.

Dan Bezon - organizer of the Columbus Movie Group, a social club that meets several times a month - had seen most of the best-picture films before they earned nominations.

Since the announcement, though, he has seen more than half of them a second time.

"This feels like a particularly good year," said Bezon, 46, of Pickerington. "I normally don't see movies twice."

He enjoyed most of the nominated films, he said - especially American Hustle.

"It was smart, pretty funny and surprisingly touching at times. I left the theater feeling so good. I saw it again almost to confirm that it was that good."

Bezon plans to watch the Academy Awards at the annual "Red Carpet Bash" at the Drexel Theatre in Bexley.

Parson will watch at home.

Iman usually watches the ceremony at home alone but has invited friends over to watch it all - from the red-carpet fashions to the acceptance speeches.

"I'm one of the few people who wants to hear a long Oscar speech," she said. "I want to keep those special moments going."

This year, she'll have someone to cheer with if her pick for best picture, 12 Years a Slave, wins.